An Air Force veteran with extensive dog handling experience will oversee the Trumbull County dog pound starting Monday.

County Commissioners Tony Bernard and Rick Hernandez approved Mecca Township resident Matthew Dubon as executive dog warden during their Thursday meeting. Commissioner Denny Malloy was absent from the session.

Dubon replaced former warden Michelle Goss, who had resigned from the position. He will be paid $28.75 per hour. Earlier in the week, Human Resources Director Alexandra DeVengencie-Bush said approximately 90 people applied for the dog warden or assistant dog warden positions.

“We had some very great candidates, but Matthew had come out on top,” Hernandez said during the meeting.

He added that Malloy also supported the decision.

“In our interviews, he has a lot of good ideas that we hope to incorporate, and we think he’s a good fit for Trumbull County and for all the volunteers that we have for the animals out at the dog pound,” Bernard added.

Dubon served with the 341st Security Forces Group Tactical Response Force at Malmstrom Air Force Base, Montana. According to an Air Force online publication released in 2014, Dubon was a nuclear advanced designated marksman, also known as a sniper.

While there, he was a dog handler and dog warden.

“He had 100 animals that he worked with, many more than what we have at the pound,” Hernandez said after the meeting.

The commissioner said Dubon is employed with the rubber company but is turning in his notice. Hernandez said Dubon did not attend the commissioners’ meeting due to work obligations. Attempts to obtain his resume through a public records request were not successful as of press time.

Dubon will also assist in picking the next deputy dog warden and a new location for the county pound.

Hernandez said that two candidates currently stand out.

“After we get that all organized, then it’s on to moving forward with a new dog pound, and that’s going to be a little more work. … We need to scale it down a bit and we’ll get there.”